


Arcade

by chartreuseblueandyellow



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29348331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chartreuseblueandyellow/pseuds/chartreuseblueandyellow
Summary: As he laughed, he saw that she was wearing one of Jack’s old shirts and jeans, the latter telling him that she wasn’t planning on staying in. He raised an eyebrow.“Where are you headed?”“Weare going to the arcade.”
Relationships: Riley Davis/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 87
Collections: Cute Romance Fanfics





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A discussion I think should be had between Mac and Riley after the last episode.

After Matty had told him that Codex was still a threat, Mac had immediately rushed over to Riley's. He'd tried to dampen down his fear as he told her but he knew that she saw it.  
He appreciated that she didn't try to mask her fear or concern, but she promised that they'd try and find a way to end Codex for good and also promised that, no matter what, she was staying right by his side. Given that she had quite literally done that last time, even in the face of death, and was the only one to stick with him, he didn't doubt it for a second and was even calmed slightly.  
But it was hard to stay that way.

The next morning he woke up early, Codex on his mind.  
It was times like these where he selfishly wished Riley still lived with him. He knew being alone wasn’t going to help him mentally right now, but more specially, because this was about Codex, Riley would be the most reassuring presence right now.  
But he also couldn’t make himself pick up the phone to ask her to come over, even though he knew she would. 

As if on cue, the doorbell rang and Mac couldn’t help but chuckle, having a feeling who it was. Opening the door, he smiled as he saw Riley, saying, “would you believe it if I said I was just thinking of you?”

Riley laughed.  
“You summoned me and I came.”

As he laughed, he saw that she was wearing one of Jack’s old shirts and jeans, the latter telling him that she wasn’t planning on staying in. He raised an eyebrow.  
“Where are you headed?”

“ _We_ are going to the arcade.”  
Spending time with Riley, especially at the arcade, was always time well spent, but given everything he had on his mind, he wasn’t sure he was going to be good company and told her as much. 

She stared at him with an eyebrow raised.  
“You should know by now, that’s _exactly_ why we’re going. I could tell when you told me about Codex yesterday, that you were trying not to freak out, but I could tell.”  
He managed a half smile, he’d suspected as much.  
Softly smiling at him, she added, “I know we have to focus on Codex, but we need to do that with a clear and level head and so, if only for this afternoon, we’re not going to think about it.”

He smiled at her, and hers turning into a grin, she said, “so get changed out of your moping sweatpants and -”

“Excuse me? I do _not_ have sweatpants I wear while moping.”

She raised an eyebrow.  
“I’ve lived with you for quite some time at this point. Trust me. Those are your moping sweatpants, whether you realise it or not.”  
He huffed but went to change, and soon they were in the GTO heading to the arcade, the wind making it too loud to talk but they didn’t mind, spending the time listening to Jack’s tapes in comfortable silence, enjoying the wind in their faces. 

As Riley parked and they got out, she stopped and turned to him just before they entered.  
“Remember, no work talk. It may seem silly now, but in the upcoming weeks, or, heaven forbid, months, where we’re crying as we try to stop Codex, you’ll appreciate this moment.”  
He nodded because he knew it was true as well as knowing that Riley was in no mood for arguments, and she added, “and if, for _some reason_ , we have to mention the group that rose from the dead,” he chuckled at her refusal to say the name, “we’ll refer to them as…” she thought about it, and grin suddenly lighting up her face, she said, “we’ll call them _they who shall not be named_.”

Mac rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but chuckle slightly as he said, “what, we’re comparing Co-” rolling his eyes again at her insistent look, he said, “we’re comparing _they who shall not be named_ to _Voldemort?_ ”

They walked through as she replied.  
“Hey, if it fits. They both came back from what everyone thought was certain death.”  
He shook his head and laughed, and soon they were immersed in friendly competition, playing all the games.  
Riley’s favourite, along with skeeball, was the dance machine and, by no coincidence, it was also his least favourite. With skeeball, he could use physics to give himself a chance of winning (which, admittedly, he had yet to do) but the dance game required coordination, and even with all his fight training, he was completely useless at it.  
Riley on the other hand, was absolutely amazing, and always broke down laughing when he almost tripped over himself trying to follow the moves. 

He insisted on a break, and laughing, Riley agreed. They got pizza and a drink, and while eating, they kept the conversation light.  
After swallowing her bite, Riley looked at him slightly hesitant.  
“I know I said we were going to keep this light and breezy, and while I’m not going to mention _they who shall not be named_ ,” he couldn’t help his chuckle, “I have to ask, why didn’t you tell me about your cancer research?”

“What happened to no work talk?”

She shrugged.  
“After this I promise I won’t bring anything work related up, but I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me.”

He could tell she was genuinely curious, and slightly hurt that he hadn’t said anything, so also ignoring the ‘no work talk’ rule, he said, “well, I didn’t want to get caught up in the mess if anyone found out that we’d been illegally shipping dangerous animals.”

She stared at him, her brows furrowed in thought, and seemingly out of the blue asked, “do you know how I watch my favourite TV shows?”

He stared at her, not knowing what that had to do with anything and managed to get out a confused “uh…”

Ignoring his reaction, she continued,  
“We’ve saved the world, more times than people will ever know, so I think that I deserve to watch my favourite shows for free.”  
He still had absolutely no idea where she was going with this, and when he kept staring blankly at her, she smiled as she continued with her story.  
“I find really nice, ultra HD versions of my shows and illegally watch them,” and when he still said nothing, she emphasised, “illegally.”

“Okay…”

Riley rolled her eyes.  
“My point here is that, in the eyes of the law, I’m already a criminal, so what’s the harm adding smuggling of exotic animals to that record, especially if it’s for finding the cure for cancer” and mumbling to herself, she added, “besides, it’s not like it’d be hard for me to make that charge go away for the both of us.”

Mac couldn’t help but laugh.  
Illegally watching shows was definitely _not_ the same thing as smuggling illegal animals, but her steadfast support, no matter what he was doing, meant a lot.  
After smiling at his reaction, Riley sobered slightly as she said, “for some reason though, I have a feeling that you knew I’d help if you asked so I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me or why you worked so hard to keep it a secret.”

Not knowing how to answer that, and feeling slightly uncomfortable against her steady gaze, he instead opted for humour.  
“I knew that if you found out, you’d confront me, and because I’m absolutely terrible at lying to you, I’d spill it all, and then you’d help me with all the research and shipping even if I didn’t want you to.”

Riley laughed.  
“You know me well Mac, you know me well.”  
He grinned, and after a pause, she asked, “so?”

Sighing slightly, he admitted, “I don’t know. I think that, even though it’s for a good cause, I knew that Desi wouldn’t really approve, and so even though I thought about telling you a few times, I kind of just… doubted myself I guess.”

At the silence, he looked up to see Riley make a face, one he couldn't discern the meaning behind, and his interest was further piqued when she immediately forced herself to hide it.

“What?”

She shook her head.  
“Nah, it’s nothing.”  
Well. He didn’t believe that one bit and silently stared at her with an eyebrow raised. She shook her head again, “seriously Mac, it’s not my place to say anything.”

Mac couldn’t help his chuckle.  
“The 'you forcing me to talk' thing isn’t a one way street, Riles,” she reluctantly grinned at that and he added, “and I get you think it’s not you place, and with anyone else that'd be fine, but… this is me and you, and I want to hear what you have to say, especially if not sure if you should say it or not.”

Riley sighed, knowing she couldn’t argue his point because it was an argument she herself would make.  
“Fine. Firstly, I need you to know, I have _mad_ respect for Desi, like I seriously do, and she’s one of my friends and I really do like her,” he raised an eyebrow, this was a _lot_ of disclaimers on Riley’s part, and sighing, she continued.  
“She’s my friend, but I have to admit, I think it was… wrong… for her to follow you. Don’t get me wrong, I think you should’ve told her what you were up to, but at the same time, I think she could’ve just talked to you instead of… well, instead of spying on you and making you feel bad about it.”

Everything Riley said was ringing true, and looking down at his hands, he couldn’t help but quietly mumble, “yeah, I agree.”  
When she said nothing in response, he said, “I just… like I get why she was annoyed I was keeping something secret, but I just don’t understand why, after she found out what I was doing, she was still annoyed. Like you and Bozer weren’t, so I don’t get why she was.”

Looking at him slightly sympathetically, she softly said, "you know Mac, you should be talking to her about this, not me."

He sadly chuckled.  
"Yeah I know," and looking back up at her, he couldn't help but add, "but it's just much easier talking to you."  
She smiled softly at his admission, and sudden emotion coming over him (he wasn’t quite ready to name exactly what emotions they were), he reached out and gently held her hand that was resting on the table, and she looked at him, trying to hide the surprise in her eyes.  
“Seriously Riles, you’re always here for me, no matter what, and I’m more thankful for that than you could ever know.”

She smiled softly at him, and when neither of them made a move to pull away, the moment from the kitchen suddenly flashed into his mind, and also thinking of the undercover picnic and now this, Mac knew that that moment hadn’t been _just_ cabin fever.

Riley slowly moved her gaze from his, to their hands, and back at him.  
She swallowed.  
In the kitchen, it had been him who’d suddenly needed to go for a “jog” but this time Riley cleared her throat as she gently removed her hand from his (he suddenly remembered she’d had pretty much the same reaction when he’d held her hand after the bomb in Germany). Shaking her head, as if to clear her mind, said, “okay, enough chit chat. Let’s see if you can _finally_ beat me at skee ball,” and shooting him a grin, added,” I’m betting no.”

He laughed as he followed her to the game, accepting her challenge, the tense moment gone.  
He wasn't able to put _they who must not be named_ or his inevitable talk with Desi out of his mind, but he was happy to push them aside and spend time enjoying the moment with Riley.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just really wanted to see Mac’s reaction to Riley “macgyvering” something and so this was born.  
> This fic is turning into my review of the episodes through macriley at the arcade and tbh im not quite sure how I feel about it. Oh well.  
> Let me know what you guys think, enjoy :)

Riley was sitting in the Phoenix computer lab and she and her team were working furiously to strengthen their already strong online security.  
Matty had asked them to do so after officially getting confirmation yesterday that Codex was back and they’d been tirelessly working since 9am.  
It was currently 2:30pm.  
Stuffing a few more pretzels into her mouth, Riley continued typing out the line of code she’d been working on when her phone buzzed next to her. Picking it up, she read the text from Mac.  
_Arcade?_

She grinned and replied.  
_Sounds good. When?_

_Now?_

Riley looked at her screen and seeing that she’d been working for almost a solid seven hours, she decided she definitely deserved a break, but just to make sure, she spoke into the silence of the room.  
“You guys okay doing the rest of the work today by yourselves?”  
They all nodded so she replied to Mac.  
_Yup sounds good.  
At HQ rn, finishing up work for Matty. Meet u there?_

His reply came a second later.  
_Sounds good._

Riley packed up her things and after letting her team know to call if anything was up, she left, arriving at the arcade 20 or so minutes later.  
She walked through the doors, the overwhelming sound of people laughing, screaming, and the many noises and effects of the arcade games oddly comforting.  
Spotting Mac sitting on a stool waiting for her, she couldn’t help but smile and as he saw her his face lit up as well.  
He pulled her in for a hug as soon as she as close enough, something thst was becoming increasingly normal these days, and after they let go and stared walking towards the games, he asked, “so what did Matty have you working on?”

“Well, because we know that Co -” suddenly remembering what she’d said last time, she quickly amended, “- that _they who must not be named_ are making a comeback -” Mac laughed, “- Matty asked me to double up on our online security.”

“Makes sense,” and grinning, he asked, “we’re still using that silly name are we?”

She nodded.  
“Oh definitely. When we’re here, we’re calling them _they who must not be named_ and nothing else.”

Mac laughed.  
“I’ll make sure to remember that.”

They spent the next half hour or so playing the games, Mac lucking out and winning a few, but the many times she’d come in the past helping her ace them.  
Mac suggested after a while they get something to eat, Riley teasing that he was tired of losing, and because she’d been snacking while working she just got an iced soda while Mac got that and a slice of pizza.  
They had a lighthearted but hearty conversation about winning the arcade games with physics (Mac’s argument) versus muscle memory (hers), both using science to back themselves up. There was no clear winner, but given that she _had_ been winning most of the games, Riley thought that her argument held more weight.

They fell into a comfortable silence after that as Mac ate his pizza, and Riley couldn’t help but wonder if something was going on with him. She didn’t know what exactly it was, but she just had a feeling.  
After taking a sip of her drink, she said, “you know I’m always up for an arcade date -” did she just say _date?!_ Mac didn’t react though so she hurried to continue before he realised. “But is there any reason in particular you wanted to meet up?” and grinning she added, “or did you just feel like losing again?”

Mac chuckled but after a few moments admitted, “the mission was… it had its tough moments, and I just needed this.”

Riley’s heart ached for him but at the same time she was proud of him.  
When she’d first met him, he’d never have admitted as much to her, or anyone for that matter. Maybe Jack, but that would’ve been after a lot of pestering.  
Her chest clenched at the thought of Jack, but she knew that he’d be proud of her and Mac taking care of each other.  
In reply to Mac’s earlie statement, she said, “yeah, Boze told me.”

Mac huffed as he took a bite, and after swallowing asked, “you two talking about me behind my back?”

“We both really care about you.”

“Yeah I know.”

Thinking of what Bozer had said Mac had been worried about, Riley said, “we all also really care about ourselves you know.”  
He looked at her in confusion and she explained.  
“We all love you and care for you but we also feel the same way about ourselves and will try everything we can to keep ourselves safe, and if we get into a dangerous situation, we’re going to use all our skills to try to get out of it.”  
Understanding dawned on his face about where she was going with this but she kept going.  
“We can get ourselves out of danger Mac, even when you’re not there. And I know your reasons for worrying go a lot deeper, but you need to know that we can all handle ourselves just fine, even without you.”

Mac slowly nodded.  
“I know,” and chuckling, he added, “I heard. Apparently you improvised something to save you and Desi?”

Riley recognized his attempt to brush off the seriousness of their conversation, but she wasn’t going to let him get away with it. From what Bozer had told her, Mac’s worry about her and Desi’s safety had almost put _his_ life in danger and Riley wanted him to acknowledge it.  
She fixed him with a look and after a few moments he sighed.  
“I know you and Desi can handle yourselves, I know you have the skills, that’s not in question, you’ve proved it time and time again, but -” he shrugged, “- it’s just… hard not to worry, especially with… with everything that’s happened.”

She sadly nodded, and because his hands were full, stretched her legs out under the table, resting them against his. Though the action was small, she knew he’d appreciate it, and he softly smiled at her.  
Sensing that she was okay with leaving that conversation there, she’d said what she’d wanted to, Mac grinned at her and said, “I _am_ actually pretty curious about what you made to get you and Desi out of there. Bozer said it knocked all the guards out?”

Riley grinned.  
“Worried I’m going to take your place as team improviser?”

Keeping his legs against hers, Mac leaned back in his chair laughing.  
“Let’s hear the story first, then I’ll see if I need to worry.”

Riley grinned.  
“Well, we were in an old cannery building right? -” Mac nodded, “- so I realised that I could use all the levers to control the gears and pulleys, and I made sure there was a heavy barrel on them all so, while hidden, I could knock out all the guards before they even knew what hit them. A lot of salt spilled onto two of the guards and I’m sure with just a few more things I could get all the salt to lump together and crystalize with them in it, but as fun as that would’ve been -” she grinned, “- for us not them, we obviously had to quickly get out of there.”  
Finished with her story, she looked at Mac to see him silently staring at her and she froze, unsure what had caused the reaction  
“Mac?”

He slowly shook his head, and chuckling, said, “you’re _amazing_ Riles.”  
There was warmth, pride, and a hint of something deeper in his eyes, and trying not to let it show just how much it was affecting her, Riley shrugged casually and in a teasing tone said, “well, I learnt from the best.”

He shook his head, not letting her gloss over it.  
“I know I opened your eyes to _macgyvering_ things,” Riley laughed, she knew he wasn’t too fond of the verb people had made for him, and rolling his eyes, he continued.  
“I might have been the one to introduce you to it, but not everyone can do all that fast paced problem solving under fire. I can’t take credit for it, it was all you Riles.”

His tone was sincere and in earnest, and a warm feeling filled her at his praise. Softly smiling in reply, she said, “thanks Mac, that means a lot.”

He grinned and added, “next time Matty needs my _macgyvering_ for a mission, I’ll just get her to send you instead.”

“I appreciate the offer, but no thanks,” and chuckling, she added, “trying to come up with lifesaving solutions on the fly with only the things around you is _stressful_.”  
Mac stared at her, his look seeming to say ‘you’re telling _me_ ’ and laughing, she added, “with a newfound respect for your skills, I promise I’ll try be easier on you when it’s taking you a while to come up with something in the field.”

Laughing, Mac added, “or maybe you could just help me out?”

Riley smiled.  
“Sounds like a plan,” and finishing up her drink, she asked, “back to me beating you at every game with my muscle memory?”

Mac sighed as he finished up his slice.  
“Remind me why we keep coming back here? We need to find something I can kick your ass in. My ego really needs it at this point.”

Riley laughed, knowing that Mac was joking. He was one of the very few people who didn’t have a huge ego, and losing at arcade games against her certainly wasn’t going to actually make him feel bad.  
“Sure you can find something else if you think you can win at it, but we just established that we’re pretty neck and neck in terms of your skills, so are you sure you’d win?”

Mac huffed, but seeing the amusement twinkling in his eyes, Riley grinned as well.


End file.
